How Your Gutters Affect Your Basement

When people are figuring out ways to keep their basement nice and dry throughout the year, they often look inside. They try to patch cracks in the walls, they fix leaky pipes, undergo mold remediation, and hire skilled contractors such as AA Action Waterproofing to improve the quality of their home. However, it’s rare to look upwards and outwards and realize that the gutters to your home actually play an important role in keeping your basement dry.

A good gutter will catch the rain and water that falls from your roof and funnel it down and away from the base of your home. The more water that falls near the base of your home, the more saturated the ground gets—and the more water there is in the ground, the more likely it is that some of that water will make its way into some of the nooks and crannies of your foundation or even into windows or other structural issues.

No one particularly enjoys cleaning gutters, but it’s a vital part of keeping your home operating in the best way possible. It’s recommended that you clean your gutters at least twice a year to prevent buildup of leaves, pine cones, sticks, and other materials that fall onto your house. If you don’t you could be facing much more serious problems later on.

When a good gutter gets clogged, it can no longer do its job. Leaves and other debris build up and prevent the proper flow of water, meaning that your gutters then overflow and send water directly down the side of your house. This water can then easily enter your home, causing issues like:

Water seepage into the basement area.

Structural damage that intensifies, such as cracks that become worse because of the water entering them.

Slight moisture entering through the corners of windows. This moisture can then build up and become a more significant problem.

Just like basement waterproofing is a preventative measure that will save you money for years and years down the road, cleaning your gutters is an investment of your time or energy that will actually prevent you from spending more money. It is always better to prepare rather than repair, as repair costs are often more urgent and higher than well-thought-out pre-emptive ones.